Ali on the Run Show

"I'm telling myself I'm going to crush it. I think that's something I used to shy away from — the Midwesterner in me, saying, 'I'm just going to do my best.' But no. Let's crush it!" Last year, running and strength coach Jess Movold came on the Ali on the Run Show for an honest and vulnerable conversation about her experience running through pregnancy. She was 21 weeks along with her first baby. N...

"I'm really good at making sure others understand that not only are they athletes — look at the definition and tell me that doesn't describe you! — but also telling people they are runners. I just decided, 'Listen, that's what I am.' If you run, if you jog, I don't care what it is, you're a runner. And you're an athlete! Own that. Once you own it, you will really see a lot of weight lifted off of...

"I'm better when I know that people are counting on me." Ever watched a professional track race and wondered why there were certain runners out front controlling the pace and then dropping out (intentionally) around the halfway mark? Pacers — or rabbits — have a very important job on race day, even if it means finishing the event with a "DNF" (Did Not Finish) next to their results. In this convers...

"I'm not here to do gotcha journalism. I'm not trying to get the scoop, I'm not trying to break news. I'm just trying to offer a platform to showcase the stories of these athletes, professional or otherwise, to share their stories, and for them to have fun. I want this to be fun for them. And I hope you enjoy it along the way!" Welcome to the first Ask Ali episode of 2023! These episodes will hit...

"I really believe that if you do a good job with the process, the outcome is gonna take care of itself. The time is gonna take care of itself." I'm running the Eugene Marathon on April 30. I've run six marathons, but my most recent one was nearly seven years ago. So, it's been a while! And while, sure, muscle memory is a thing, I wanted to enlist some help with the process this time around. Enter...

"I always have to remind myself that a race is gonna be really hard!" Surely when Alicia Keys sang "this girl is on fire," she was referring (preemptively) to On Athletics Club's Alicia Monson . In 2021, Alicia became an Olympian in the 10K. In 2022, she represented Team USA at World Championships, again in the 10K. And just two months into 2023, the unstoppable streak continues: Alicia just broke...

"They said, 'Deirdre, think of where you were when you signed up for this, and where you are now. And just enjoy this moment.' And so I turned off the music, and I just enjoyed the serenity of running at night, thinking of my dad next to me, thinking of the person I was when I signed up for this, and who I am now. And I crossed that finish line and absolutely fell apart in the best way possible. I...

"I was mortified! Like, I've literally told everyone he's my boyfriend, and he hasn't told his friends about me! They don't know who I am!" Happy Valentine's Day! We're celebrating as we always do on the Ali on the Run Show : with a whole lot of love! This year, it's Emily Infeld and Max Randolph's time to shine. Emily is a Nike-sponsored professional athlete and member of Team Boss, coached by Jo...

"I'm not the type of athlete who likes to go to the track, come home, and watch Netflix or play video games until the next run, and then rinse and repeat. I will go crazy trying to do that. A lot of people enjoy that and think they have to do that in order to get the success that they are working toward — that they have to give up every other part of their life that isn't running related. And I've...

"I have this memory of someone saying to me, 'Oh you're a runner.' And I was like, 'Oh, I'm not a runner!' 'But you run a lot!' 'Oh! Yeah! I guess I am a runner. I guess that has happened! That's a part of who I am!'" She's a two-time marathoner. A mom of three. A humanitarian and global health advocate. An author . A New Yorker. And she's a former First Daughter of the United States of America. C...

"It was like the bell went off at that moment. And while I wasn't the fastest or the most physical, I started. I put my foot down, and I started." Adina Crawford is a civilian supervisor for the Montgomery County Police Department. (A very intense, emotional job.) She's a yoga instructor. And she's a two-time marathoner who lives and breathes running. But that wasn't always the case! Growing up, A...

"Never forget where you started. Nobody is born running a mile. We all have to work for it. So never forget those first few steps. Keep up the faith. And then one day, you'll go out and you'll feel like you're flying." In her mid-thirties, Susie Chan was a cigarette-smoking single mom working as an exhibitions coordinator for art galleries and museums. The word "running" was definitely not a part...

"I never think that in a race. I never think, 'I've got this.' For better or for worse, I don't ever feel like something's done until it's done." She's done it again! Earlier this month, Emily Sisson broke her own American record in the half marathon, running 1:06:52 at the Houston Half Marathon. She became the first U.S. woman to run under 67 minutes in the half marathon on a record-eligible cour...

"I get rowdy with vodka." Des Linden is busy ! She just launched a new podcast with Kara Goucher. Her memoir, Choosing to Run , comes out April 4. And she's gearing up for this year's Boston Marathon. But she's never too busy to indulge in a little plaisir coupable . (That's "guilty pleasure," in French.) In this conversation, Des offers updates on all of the above: what we can expect from the pod...

"I got to the top and I was like, 'Wow.' Like so proud of myself. I have no idea how much I weigh relative to then. I do not care to see the difference in a photo between what I look like then and what I look like now. All I know is that I'm so happy with myself, I'm so proud of myself, and I feel so strong." Camila Ramón started running in elementary school. Not because she loved it. Not because...

"What I would want to tell that person, but I think would have destroyed that person is, 'You're going to get everything you ever wanted, and it's going to destroy you.'" In 2020, Molly Seidel finished second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, earning herself a spot on Team USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She had no idea what was to come. When the Olympics finally happened, in August 2021, Moll...

"My why is bigger than myself. My why is for all the people I'm racing for and raising funds for. My why is for all the angels on my angel list. And my why is for everyone that's been told they can't do something. Because who says you can't?" Last month, professional runner Keira D'Amato hosted a week's worth of giveaways on Instagram. The fifth and final prize: an appearance on the Ali on the Run...

"If you're writing my obituary, whoever's in charge, please include this! Because I feel very proud of it!" You probably know her as the adorably sweet and oftentimes aloof Erin Hannon, from The Office . Or maybe you know her as the scrappy, can't-keep-me-down titular character on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt . She played Becca on Bridesmaids , she co-hosts the Great American Baking Show , she's...

"It shouldn't be this tough. It doesn't need to be this tough. You shouldn't need that much toughness to succeed. Of course you need to have drive and need to work hard and all those things. That's not the kind of toughness I'm talking about. I'm talking about dealing with the unnecessary obstacles that a lot of female athletes are faced with." Welcome to the new "Run Your Way" series on the Ali o...

"I remember telling my friend that my goal in life is to be able to make everyone happy, and to be everything that everyone needs. And he was like, 'That sounds exhausting and impossible.' And I was like, 'Watch me! I can do it! I will bring joy to the masses!' And now, a year later, I'm like, 'What was I thinking? That DOES sound exhausting!'" Happy New Year! I kick off the start of every year he...

A few weeks ago, I talked about my life with Crohn's disease. In that episode , I answered a listener question about the worst, most embarrassing, most inconvenient bathroom experience I've ever had. And I'm not going to tell that story again now — I'll spare you — but the short version is that I was very sick, I was living in New Jersey, and I traveled into Manhattan that day via ferry for a very...

"I'm very much a 'fall down eight times, get up nine' kinda girlie. I fall down a lot! I have a lot of mishaps. Races don't always go the best for me. I'm still working on a few things. It was just nice to have this moment where everything came together." Last year, professional athlete Heather MacLean became a breakout star. The Team New Balance Boston athlete made her first Olympic team — every...

"I went all-in. So if I failed, I could say I tried everything." Anoush Arakelian is a full-time director of product marketing, a running coach, and a coach at MYSTRYDE in her hometown of Boston, MA. And as of a few weeks ago, she's a 3:07 marathoner. ("I think I'm still processing that that's my new time," she says.) Anoush ran a four-minute personal best at the California International Marathon...

"The biggest takeaway is that I'm having fun. That is a huge thing! I forgot what it was like to just have fun with it and be playful and enjoy the ride." Maegan Krifchin, a professional runner for Atlanta Track Club Elite, had a big goal for this fall: run a personal best at the TCS New York City Marathon. She put all of her running eggs in that basket, training hard with that NYCM plan in mind....

"It was just that moment in time where somebody saw something and wanted to help me and give back. And I try to do that with other people, too, because if I hadn't been in that situation, I don't know what I'd be doing now." Imagine getting to travel the world, attending major marathon race weekends and helping share the stories of the athletes, the races, and the people who make these events so s...